Watching Qifeng leave, Kakashi's eyes flickered.
"Stop them!"
After shouting, he chased after Kusaribe Yamato.
But Tsukishiro Shin'ya followed close behind.
Compared to recovering the intelligence, his greater objective now was to kill Kakashi. If he could snuff out Konoha's genius ninja, he would not be punished regardless of whether this mission succeeded.
The other two were not having such an easy time.
Ito Ki was a sensory ninja. At least he was a Chunin, so his strength was passable. But Imai Kuriyama was in far greater danger.
As a Medical Ninja, Imai Kuriyama's frontal combat ability was mediocre to begin with. Now that he was facing a mist ninja skilled in killing, he could suffer a fatal injury at any moment.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Tsukishiro Shin'ya's thoughts shifted, and he understood the meaning behind them.
"Kill him! He has the intelligence!"
Then he slashed after him, forcing Kakashi to turn and defend.
Thanks a lot, Qifeng. And your whole family too. Qifeng felt utterly helpless.
He sprinted all the way.
"Water Release! Water Shockwave!"
Crash!
A surging torrent burst forth in an instant, pouring down like a flood.
"Earth Release! Earth Wall!"
Feeling the rushing water sweeping toward him from behind, Qifeng knew he could not outrun it. He truly had not gotten his hands on any ninjutsu suited for escaping.
He quickly turned around, formed hand seals with both hands, and slapped them onto the ground.
Rumble!
An Earth Wall surged up with a roar, solidly enduring the torrent's impact without budging.
But instead of feeling pleased, he stomped his feet and retreated away from the Earth Wall.
Sure enough, the next second—
Whoosh!
A blade sliced through the Earth Wall, its gleaming cut surface proclaiming the weapon's sharpness.
Immediately afterward, a figure passed through it and charged straight at him.
Qifeng's expression darkened. With a flick of his wrist, a kunai fell into his hand, and he met the blade head-on.
Clang!
Sparks flew, accompanied by a crisp metallic ring.
Chunin!
In that instant, both men gained some understanding of each other's strength.
Their weapons locked, and inertia brought their bodies close. Kusaribe Yamato's face twisted with fury. "Where do you think you can run to?"
Qifeng gave him an honest smile. "I wasn't planning to run. It's just that corpses should not be desecrated. How about you pick another target? That silver-haired brat behind you is Hatake Kakashi, son of Hatake Sakumo, the Konoha White Fang. Killing him would be a great merit too."
He was trying to negotiate.
With Kakashi's strength, even if he could not win, running away should not be a problem.
Qifeng was just someone who collected corpses. He only wanted to collect corpses in peace. Was there really any need to chase him so relentlessly?
"Oh?" The force in Kusaribe Yamato's hand loosened.
An opportunity!
Although Qifeng had remained in the Morgue and never taken on missions, the experience granted by Miura Ikkō's Experience Card—even if he had only learned a little—was enough to handle a Chunin.
The hand gripping his kunai suddenly exerted force, creating a bit of space for himself.
"Fire Release! Flame Bullet!"
A scorching crimson fireball shot from his mouth in an instant, hurtling straight toward Kusaribe Yamato.
They were far too close. Kusaribe Yamato had almost no time to react. In his horrified eyes, the fireball grew larger and hotter.
But Mist Ninjas called themselves the Blood Mist. They were ninja born under brutally cruel policies, and one-on-one killing had accompanied them through nearly their entire time at the Ninja Academy. Knowing he could not evade it, he simply gave up on dodging. Facing the fireball, he advanced rather than retreated!
Gritting his teeth, he exploded forward and charged into the fireball. A chilling blade shot out from the flames, carrying the stench of burning flesh, and lunged straight at Qifeng's face.
Whoosh!
The sharp blade, mixed with the searing heat of the flames, cleaved Qifeng in two.
Just as joy rose in Kusaribe Yamato's heart—
Bang!
Qifeng's severed body suddenly erupted into smoke, turning into two pieces of wood.
Substitution Technique.
Thud—
Kusaribe Yamato's unwilling body crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Whew—" Qifeng slowly emerged from behind a nearby tree, patting his chest with lingering fear.
"I just wanted to collect corpses quietly. Why go this far?"
After approaching, he nudged Kusaribe Yamato's corpse with the tip of his foot. Only after confirming he was truly dead did he sit down beside him and wipe the fine sweat from his forehead.
His opponent had been fairly strong. He was just too easily affected by other people's words.
That was probably related to Kirigakure's customs as well.
Kirigakure's Mist Ninjas were ruthless and sparing with words. The moment they met someone, they fought. Each of them coldly treated everyone around them as a hypothetical enemy. What communication could there possibly be?
Of course, Qifeng was also good at seizing opportunities. Through their brief exchange, he had gained some understanding of his opponent's personality and promptly used the Substitution Technique to evade.
Had it been a less experienced ninja, he might have been replaced instead.
After calming his breathing slightly—
He took out a Sealing Scroll he had prepared and stored Kusaribe Yamato's corpse inside.
After all, he was a Chunin Green Corpse. What he yielded would definitely be better than a white corpse.
He also dealt with the traces on the ground.
Though there were hardly any traces to begin with. They had long been washed away by the remaining water from the Water Shockwave.
After finishing all that—
Qifeng turned and ran toward where Kakashi and the others were.
Rather than revealing himself directly, he hid in the shadows and watched silently.
But he soon found that he could not remain hidden.
Kakashi was still fighting Tsukishiro Shin'ya evenly. The two would probably struggle to decide a victor in a short time.
But Imai Kuriyama was not doing so well. He was covered in blood and looked as though he might die at any moment.
Qifeng seized the opportunity, found a suitable moment, formed hand seals, and unleashed surging flames like a tidal wave that swept across everything.
"Fire Release! Great Fireball!"
The B-rank Fire Release ninjutsu instantly drained a huge amount of Chakra from his body.
But its power was equally impressive.
The mist ninja fighting Imai Kuriyama was caught off guard and instantly swallowed by the sea of flames. He was clearly beyond saving.
At the same time, Qifeng flashed to Imai Kuriyama's side and caught his swaying body.
"Are you okay?"
He received no reply, because Imai Kuriyama had passed out.
"You?!"
Seeing Qifeng return after leaving, Tsukishiro Shin'ya's expression changed. His intimidating gaze resembled a venomous snake ready to strike. With one blow, he forced Kakashi back and landed atop a tree.
"Where is Yamato?" Tsukishiro Shin'ya asked in a deep voice.
Qifeng wore an honest expression, his face utterly sincere. "That mist ninja from before? I told him there was a barbecue restaurant with really good food. By now... he should be eating there, right?"
"..."
Barbecue?
Who was he trying to fool?!
"Qifeng, take Kuriyama and leave first. We can handle things here," Kakashi said when he found an opening.
The only thing distracting him earlier had been Imai Kuriyama. Although Ito Ki was losing, it would not be so easy for him to be defeated.
Just as Tsukishiro Shin'ya had been exceptionally excited upon seeing Kakashi, Kakashi had also been suppressing the excitement in his heart and keeping the mission as his top priority.
Now that it seemed the mission was no longer in danger, he finally no longer needed to restrain that desire.
Leave first?
Qifeng naturally had no objections. If not for the fact that abandoning his companions would look bad, he would have left long ago.
He glanced at the mist ninja's corpse, which was about to burn into charcoal, and felt some regret and hesitation.
But those feelings were quickly tossed to the back of his mind.
He scooped Imai Kuriyama up in his arms and left behind the words, "Don't worry about us. Good luck."
Without the slightest reluctance or hesitation, he flashed away and ran.
He was fleeing under orders.
Ninjas had to obey orders!
Before you continue